CU has dismissed just three tenured professors — Ward Churchill, R. Igor Gamow and Mahinder Uberoi — and all were fired since 2000.

Campus spokesman Ryan Huff said it's believed those three are the only tenured faculty members ever dismissed by CU, but that it's difficult to say definitively whether others were fired in the early history of the university, which was founded in 1876.

Fired faculty

The University of Colorado has only dismissed three tenured faculty members in its 138-year history:

Mahinder Uberoi, an aerospace engineering professor, fired in 2000 for reasons not made public

Most recently, Churchill, an ethnic studies professor, was dismissed in 2007 on grounds of academic misconduct after his work came under scrutiny when he compared some victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks to a notorious Nazi.

The university fired Gamow, a chemical engineering professor, in 2004 for "moral turpitude" after allegations of sexual assault and harassment surfaced.

And in 2000, CU dismissed Uberoi, an aerospace engineering professor, for reasons that were never made public. He had filed eight lawsuits over six years against CU, claiming everything from racial discrimination to hazardous laboratory working conditions.

Decision not made lightly

The list is short because university administrators must go through drawn-out proceedings, appeals and hearings before a decision ultimately is made by the Board of Regents.

"It's not a decision the chancellor takes lightly," said Patrick O'Rourke, the university's chief legal officer.

O'Rourke added that if a tenured faculty member being dismissed decides to file suit against CU, the university will fight it.

"Only a faculty member can decide whether or not they're going to bring a claim," O'Rourke said. "If somebody brings a claim against us, we'll defend it."

To be dismissed, a tenured faculty member must demonstrate professional incompetence, neglect of duty, insubordination, conviction of a felony, sexual harassment or moral turpitude, a legal term often defined as an act that violates accepted moral standards.

In Barnett's case, CU officials have declined to address the grounds for moving to fire the professor.

"We cannot discuss any specific aspects as it relates to personnel decisions," Huff said. "However, the grounds for dismissing a tenured professor are narrow and include violating provisions in the university's discrimination and harassment policy and conduct below minimum standards of professional integrity."

According to CU Board of Regents policy, a faculty member may also be dismissed for other conduct that falls below minimum standards of professional integrity.

Process laid out in regent policy

According to regent policy, a faculty member must be given written notification that he or she is being dismissed. The faculty member can request, within 10 days, that his or her case be taken up by the committee on privilege and tenure, which is a standing committee under the system-wide group that represents faculty interests across CU's campuses.

According to the website for the system-wide faculty council, the privilege and tenure committee "independently investigates, mediates and conducts formal/informal hearings of grievance cases." The chair of the committee is required to create a separate six-person panel for hearing dismissal cases.

A faculty member's situation is first heard by a group of his or her peers because of a concept in higher education known as shared governance.

"The concept of shared governance is one where the faculty should and do have a say in how the university looks and, in particular, on academic matters, such as who should teach," O'Rourke said.

During privilege and tenure proceedings, which must be completed in 80 business days, the faculty member can question witnesses and "have counsel," according to regent policy.

The burden of proof is on the university administration.

Once that committee issues its findings, CU President Bruce Benson must issue a recommendation to the Board of Regents. His recommendation, along with all records in the case, are forward to the regents. The faculty member can respond in writing to the president's recommendation and request a hearing before the regents, which is held in private.

The board, having made a decision, must vote on any action in public. The regents' decision is final.

Willing to go to court

In an email, Barnett declined comment. His attorney, Brian Moore, said Barnett has notified CU that he wants the privilege and tenure committee to take his case.

The committee has received that notification, but has not yet set a hearing date for Barnett.

Moore said he will be Barnett's legal counsel during the proceedings, and plans to present evidence contrary to CU's grounds for dismissal.

He said that his client is willing to take the university to court if necessary.

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